Bacteriology rack



Sept. 2, 1969 E. J. GOWDY ET BACTERIOLOGY RACK Filed July 14, 1967 24 lNl/ENTORS EU/V/GE .1. con 0r GARY M HOPPEL United States Patent 3,464,567 BACTERIOLOGY RACK Eunice J. Gowdy, Pryor Star Rte., and Gary M. Hoppel, 1535 Wicks Lane, both of Billings, Mont. 59101 Filed July 14, 1967, Ser. No. 653,570 Int. Cl. A47b 73/00, 81/04 US. Cl. 21174 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bacteriology rack having a central L-shaped supporting wall which supports a plurality of parallel sloping plates on its inner surface for receiving petri dishes, a plurality of L-shaped parallel shelves on its outer surface for receiving and supporting culture tubes and a second L-shaped supporting wall parallel to the first having its inner surface secured to the outer edge of the shelves.

This application relates to a bacteriology rack and more particularly relates to a substantially triangular-shaped rack for simultaneously supporting petri dishes and culture tubes.

In the science of bacteriology, the study of bacterial life and phenomena relating thereto often requires close use of culture tubes and petri dishes. The culture tubes are as their name implies, elongated, deep receptacles, whereas, the petri dishes are small shallow dishes of thin glass, usually having a loose cover. Although their designs are vastly different from one another, it has always been desirable to maintain the culture tubes and the petri dishes in close proximity to one another because of their related use in scientific endeavor. A primary objective of this invention is to provide a common laboratory rack for supporting a plurality of culture tubes and petri dishes having diverse shapes.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a bacteriology rack which will support a plurality of petri dishes centrally relative to an L-shaped row of vertical culture tubes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bacteriology rack which will support both culture tubes and petri dishes in such a way that accidental dislodgment is substantially eliminated.

A further object of the invetnion is to provide a downwardly sloped triangular-shaped shelf for supporting petri dishes on a bacteriology rack.

These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the following detailed description when viewed in light of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the invention; and

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIGURE 2.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like numerals indicate like parts, the numeral indicates the bacteriology rack of the invention. The structural components of the rack are made of synthetic, transparent plastic material such as Plexiglas. The rack itself is easly portable and may be stored in any desirable location in the laboratory. Due to its angular configuration, it is especially adapted to corner storage where the chances of overturning are slight.

The rack 10 is comprised of a central vertical L-shaped supporting wall 12 which has an inner wall surface 14 and an outer wall surface 16. Rigidly secured to the inner wall surface 14 are a plurality of triangular-shaped plates 3,464,567 Patented Sept. 2, 1969 18 which slope downwardly and inwardly to the center of the wall 12. The plates 18 serve to support petri dishes, one of which is shown at 20. The plates 18 extend from the very ends of the wall 12 in order to give a hypotenuse of greater length and hence a plate of greatest supporting area.

A second L-shaped wall, parallel to the first wall 12 and spaced therefrom, is indicated by the numeral 22. A plurality of shelves 24 have first edges secured to the surface 16 of the first wall 12 and their other edges to the inner surface of the second wall 22. The uppermost shelves 24 have a series of openings 26 for receiving and guiding culture tubes 28 while the lowest shelf 26 is solid and supports the said culture tubes in resilient pads 27 disposed below the openings.

The second wall 22 provides increased support and stability to the bacteriology rack 10. As shown in the drawings, the legs of the second wall extend only to a point inward of the outer ends of the shelves 24 so that substances in the end tubes can be closely observed without removing them from the rack.

The bacteriology rack described provides a stable receptacle of strength and rigidity for simultaneously supporting a plurality of culture tubes in close proximity to a plurality of petri dishes. The use of multiple shelves 24 retains the culture tubes from movement in all directions except upwardly while the use of the sloped plates 18 takes advantage of the force of gravity in keeping the substantially flat petri dishes in place.

In a general manner, while there has been disclosed effective and efiicient embodiments of the invention, it should be well understood that the invention is not limited to such embodiments, as there might be changes made in the arrangement, disposition, and form of the parts without departing from the principle of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A bacteriology rack comprising a vertically disposed L-shaped wall having an inner surface and an outer surface, a plurality of triangular plates inclined to the horizontal supported by said inner surface, and a plurality of parallel horizontal L-shaped shelves having inner edges supported on said outer surface, the uppermost of said shelves having a plurality of openings therein.

2. The rack described in claim 1 wherein a second L-shaped wall is disposed parallel to said first wall and supports the outer edges of said shelves.

3. The rack described in claim 1 wherein a lower one of said shelves has resilient pads disposed vertically below said openings.

4. The rack described in claim 4 wherein said pads are formed with a depression in the upper surfaces thereof.

5. The rack described in claim 2 wherein each leg of said second L-shaped wall extends to a point inward of the outer ends respectively of the L-shaped shelves.

6. The rack described in claim 2 wherein the legs of said first L-shaped wall are shorter than the legs of said second L-shaped wall.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,188,146 6/1916 Bogley 2l174 2,197,870 4/ 1940 Krasberg 211 2,941,659 6/1960 Thrower 3l2-238 X CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

